In pondering my writing of this article, I decided that it was much more appropriate to title it, "Nausea Pregnancy" than to use the term, "morning sickness." Most women who suffer through nausea and vomiting during pregnancy I’m sure will agree that the term "morning sickness" can be a complete misnomer.

From my own experiences with "Nausea Pregnancy," first with my nine-year-old son, and then a severe and violent nausea pregnancy with my now one-year-old twin girls that lasted the entire nine months, I know firsthand how sick, drained, helpless and desperate for relief a woman feels during this debilitating stage of pregnancy.

As the reader of this article, I sincerely hope that your symptoms subside after your first trimester, as is usually the case.

Since approximately 70 percent of all pregnant women worldwide experience some level of nausea in pregnancy, the two terms, "nausea" and "pregnancy" are almost synonymous with one another. Most people - men included - know that if you’re pregnant, you’ll likely be having some symptoms of "morning sickness." Although there are those lucky women who don’t.

Being that pregnancy and nausea usually go hand-in-hand, most people don’t take it too seriously, knowing that it will go away, and kind of just brush it off, and so compassion and understanding are not given as much as a pregnant woman may sometimes need while they are going through this terribly depressing and helpless state of pregnancy. And it’s at this stage of pregnancy that a woman needs the compassion, understanding and basically a shoulder to lean on the most!

Sadly and ironically, I found that the healthcare providers were actually the least caring and compassionate of all. When the topic of nausea was brought up at a visit, it seemed as though they perceived it as just trivial, deal with it, here’s a cracker, go home and go on with your affairs. They truly offered no help or comfort to me whatsoever. Not only were they of no help in dealing with the nausea pregnancy for nine months, after they discovered that I was pregnant with twins - (something I already knew and had told everybody before my first sonogram) at age 39, my pregnancy now got relabeled into the classification of: "high risk pregnancy." And this, again, brought on many more problematic issues, or so they said.

To go along with coping and dealing with daily nausea and vomiting symptoms, now I was being told at each doctor’s visit that I could possibly go into preterm labor (staring at 16 weeks pregnant); that I had a high chance of having numerous other complications for myself and the babies, and that I should reduce my stress and anxiety levels as much as possible. Well, telling me these things actually just enhanced my stress and anxiety, as well as my nausea!

And so began my search for self-help to alleviate these horrible nausea pregnancy symptoms and to help reduce the risks of preterm labor, preeclampsia, and more.

In my quest to find some relief, I spent quite a bit of money and time in the process from sea bands to Preggie Pops, different herbal teas claiming relief, Ginger root to eating crackers morning, noon and night and many other so-called remedies that really didn’t offer much relief.

What I did find helped me quite a bit was finding a very mild and very, very subtle fragrance in the form of soap, wrapping it in a handkerchief and each morning I would unwrap the handkerchief from the soap and carry it with me wherever I would go, and throughout the day, I would hold the handkerchief up to my nose to diffuse the horrible smells that lurked around every corner wherever I went. I especially used it while going to the grocery store, completely covering my nose and mouth with the handkerchief the entire time.

Another very effective and easy remedy was just plain ice, chewing on it all day long, morning, noon and night. Somehow the coolness reduced the nausea tremendously. I also had a hard time keeping fluids down, so this was a great way for me to stay hydrated, which is of utmost importance during pregnancy, especially if you’ve been vomiting.

In my early pregnancy stage, of course the nausea and vomiting was at its peak, and holding food down and even prenatal vitamins was almost impossible but for one food, and that was strawberries. I could keep them down and the aroma of strawberries seemed to make me feel a little better. As you probably already know, it’s vital to get extra folic acid in your diet during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester. Well, I soon came to find out that strawberries are actually loaded with folic acid. And the fact that I couldn’t hold down any vitamins, that was a huge relief knowing that I was getting plenty of folic acid. I guess my body just naturally knew how to take care of itself and the babies.

Popsicles were good too, although I didn’t overdo it as I didn’t want to consume too much sugar for fear of gestational diabetes.

Now the last - but definitely not least - remedy I found helped with the nausea, as well as helped to reduce stress and anxiety that this high risk pregnancy brought about, especially after a doctor’s visit, and that was the practice of meditation and music therapy.

Being a practicing metaphysician and spiritualist before getting pregnant, I was and still am an avid practitioner of meditation and have spent many years in private study and practice of this wise, old, ancient practice, taking the time out, at least 15 to 20 minutes in a day to help achieve balance and well-being in the body. It has really had some amazing effects in my life.

When I got pregnant, I continued my practice of meditation, but not as often as I should have, but started increasing it to a daily practice of 15 to 20 minutes towards the end of my first trimester ,thinking that it might be beneficial for the babies. So I started listening to some of my meditation music Cds with headphones and prenatal speakers. The feelings of relaxation, calm and serenity are almost indescribable, and it really helped me through my pregnancy. And from the kicking responses that I got from the babies, I believe they enjoyed the meditation time too.

When I experienced really bad days of nausea and vomiting, I would get myself into a comfortable lying down position, put my headphones on and just start to breathe - (which by the way is one of the most important factors in effective meditation) - and really focused on my breathing. To my surprise, the nausea symptoms would lesson as I did this. The music helped me to relax and I would start my own personal imagery within my mind’s eye that helped me to get rid of any fearful and stressful thoughts I might be carrying inside of me.

To no surprise, meditation was something I continued throughout my pregnancy, and of course still continue to this day. As a matter of fact, I have now devoted my life to teaching and guiding women around the globe about this amazing but simple tool to help alleviate many pregnancy symptoms, including the debilitating stages of nausea and vomiting, and above all, helping to reduce a woman’s chances of pregnancy complications such as preterm labor and preeclampsia, to name a few. Just as French obstetrician, Ferdinand Lamaze, introduced a type of meditation technique to help women deal with the pains of labor and delivery known simply as "Lamaze," my experience with pregnancy meditation was so profound that it is my goal to help educate, guide, make known as common knowledge that along with proper nutrition and mild exercise, the practice of pregnancy meditation is a vital part of having a healthy pregnancy and a more comfortable one as well.

I’d also like to mention another profound outcome that I discovered from the practice of meditation relaxation during pregnancy: as an added benefit, to my surprise, the music Cds I had used during pregnancy while meditating have actually turned out to be a relaxation aid for my babies; as I like to play my meditative music throughout the day - something you would generally hear in a day spa while getting a massage - and as I did this, I noticed that when the babies starting getting a bit fussy or tired, when they heard the music that I played during my pregnancy meditations with prenatal speakers, the room would immediately go quiet. It was amazing! And as a p.s., I did not go into preterm labor, I went full term with a healthy set of twin girls, Heather and Megan, weighing a hefty 6 lbs, 5 oz and 6 lbs, 10 oz with absolutely no complications. This is coming from a woman who was 39 years of age carrying twins and was told that my chances for preterm labor and preeclampsia were very high.

So as I said, as a last but not least, meditation relaxation during pregnancy is very helpful and I truly recommend this practice to each and every pregnant woman I come across.

There are many beautiful guided meditation downloads on the Internet, or you can find guided meditation Cds at your local bookstore and maybe even the library. If you’ve never meditated before, I highly recommend that you start out with a guided meditation CD, as there are certain breathing techniques that guided meditations will help lead you into, along with a soothing, gentle guide into the mind’s eye to

bring you into a deep visualization state; hence, they are the two key factors in experiencing the full benefits of meditation. And I might add, there are guided meditation

downloads and Cds available designed especially for pregnant women.

I truly hope this information will be helpful in your quest to alleviate your nausea symptoms during your pregnancy, as well as any other symptoms and problems you may be experiencing.

Blessings for a smooth and healthy labor and delivery.